He was a beefy 5-foot-10 but won an Oscar for playing the slight , 5-foot-3 Truman Capote . He had the booming voice of a deity but often played schlubs and conflicted characters .

He could be heartfelt and giving , as with his male nurse in `` Magnolia '' or rock critic in `` Almost Famous , '' or creepily Machiavellian , such as the gamemaster in the latest `` Hunger Games '' movie .

Philip Seymour Hoffman was an actor who could be anybody .

`` I do n't know how he does it , '' director Mike Nichols told The New York Times Magazine in 2008 . Nichols directed Hoffman on both stage -LRB- `` The Seagull , '' `` Death of a Salesman '' -RRB- and screen -LRB- `` Charlie Wilson 's War '' -RRB- . `` Again and again , he can truly become someone I 've not seen before but can still instantly recognize . ... He may look like Phil , but there 's something different in his eyes . And that means he 's reconstituted himself from within , willfully rearranging his molecules to become another human being . ''

`` Philip Seymour Hoffman 's precise , uncanny performance as Capote does n't imitate the author so much as channel him , as a man whose peculiarities mask great intelligence and deep wounds , '' wrote Roger Ebert about 2005 's `` Capote . ''

Hoffman was found dead Sunday . Reports attribute his death to a drug overdose .

For years , Hoffman was the kind of anonymous character actor who earned critical raves but was often unnoticed by the general public . He had an Everyman face -- burly enough to be an athlete , soft enough to be an artist , with an eye twinkle that could be either vicious -LRB- as in his `` Mission : Impossible III '' villain -RRB- or humorous -LRB- the frat-boyish Sandy in `` Along Came Polly '' -RRB- .

Consider the roles that earned him Academy Award nominations : a conniving writer -LRB- `` Capote '' -RRB- , a cranky CIA desk jockey -LRB- `` Charlie Wilson 's War '' -RRB- , an upbeat , dissembling priest -LRB- `` Doubt '' -RRB- and a charming , enigmatic cult leader -LRB- `` The Master '' -RRB- .

Or consider the ones that did n't : baseball manager Art Howe -LRB- `` Moneyball '' -RRB- , suspicious Freddie Miles -LRB- `` The Talented Mr. Ripley '' -RRB- , clever Plutarch Heavensbee -LRB- `` The Hunger Games : Catching Fire '' -RRB- .

The New York Times ' Ben Brantley , who saw him on stage , was unequivocal . `` One of the finest actors of his generation , '' he wrote in his review of the 2012 staging of `` Death of a Salesman '' -- even while finding Hoffman miscast in that production .

One of a kind everyman :

He 's of a type harder to find in Hollywood these days , where movie-star looks and charisma often take precedence over the ability to disappear into a role . Indeed , even when movie stars do try to disappear , we 're all too aware of the tricks , whether it 's weight gain , a putty nose or an unfamiliar accent .

Movie stars sell tickets . Character actors -- and Hoffman , for all his intensity , was a character actor -- support movie stars .

That seemed OK with him . You could more often find him in challenging roles or secondary parts than leads . He liked to take chances .

He worked with director Paul Thomas Anderson -LRB- `` Boogie Nights , '' `` Magnolia , '' `` The Master '' -RRB- before either was a big name , and Anderson provided him with a steady stream of interesting roles . He took small parts in such films as the dark comedy `` Strangers with Candy , '' based on the unpleasant characters dreamed up by Amy Sedaris , Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert , and `` The Invention of Lying , '' Ricky Gervais ' comedy about religion and atheism .

In some respects he followed the path of one of his heroes , Paul Newman , who had looks and magnetism to burn but was n't shy about taking `` character '' parts , such as a broken-down lawyer in `` The Verdict '' or a ne'er - do-well in `` Nobody 's Fool . '' The latter featured Newman acting opposite Hoffman , as did the HBO miniseries `` Empire Falls . ''

He also kept his talent sharp with frequent stage work and the kind of `` one for me , one for them '' movie philosophy that made sure he was both busy and successful .

The price of fame :

In recent years , he 'd become a more recognizable face -- and persona . In a video that quickly made the rounds , his voice was dubbed into a trailer for the Joaquin Phoenix movie `` Her , '' taking the place of Scarlett Johansson 's operating system , Samantha . Where Johansson is relaxed , Hoffman is intense ; where Johansson is helpful , Hoffman is wily . It neatly summed up his capabilities .

But with fame comes intrusion , and Hoffman seemed uncomfortable with the attention . He was a New York-based actor , not a movie star . It was a job , not an excuse to turn him into an open book .

`` Somebody wanted me to talk about my personal life , '' he told the UK newspaper The Independent in 2012 . `` I 'd rather not because my family does n't have any choice . If I talk about them in the press , I 'm giving them no choice . So I choose not to . ''

His death has left his colleagues in shock .

`` We have lost a true artist , '' said Robin Wright in a statement . Wright worked with Hoffman in `` Moneyball '' and the forthcoming `` A Most Wanted Man . ''

`` He was a giant talent , '' said Tom Hanks , who co-starred with Hoffman in `` Charlie Wilson 's War . ''

But perhaps director Nichols was most succinct -- and heartfelt -- in describing the void left by Hoffman 's death .

`` No words for this , '' he said in a statement . `` He was too great and we 're too shattered . ''

`` Great '' is an all-too-appropriate word , as Hoffman himself used it when expressing his goals . Given his work and the circumstances of his death , a line from the 2008 New York Times Magazine profile seems more haunting today .

`` For me , acting is torturous , and it 's torturous because you know it 's a beautiful thing , '' he said . `` I was young once , and I said , ` That 's beautiful and I want that . ' Wanting it is easy , but trying to be great -- well , that 's absolutely torturous . ''

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Philip Seymour Hoffman was a rare breed in Hollywood

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The actor could disappear into -- and transcend -- any role

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He seemed to care more for his craft than celebrity

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Hoffman died of an apparent drug overdose at the age of 46